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New professor at the University of Hildesheim: Revolution in language learning!
Prof. Dr. Nils Jäkel has headed the Faculty of English Didactics at the University of Hildesheim since February 2025 and researches multilingualism.
New professor at the University of Hildesheim: Revolution in language learning!
Prof. Dr. Nils Jäkel has held the professorship for English second language acquisition and didactics at the since February 2025 University of Hildesheim inside. With over ten years of experience in educational systems in the USA, Finland and Denmark, he brings an international perspective to his new role. His research focuses on early foreign language acquisition, bilingual content and subject teaching, and the influences of the first language on the acquisition of other languages.
Another central aspect of his work is multilingualism in different contexts in Germany. Jäkel's research is particularly relevant in the current discussions about equal opportunities and inclusion in language teaching. He is planning several innovative research projects, including a Finnish project on multilingualism that focuses on the linguistic distance between German, Finnish and Norwegian.
Innovative teaching methods and research projects
In addition, he works on the “Promise” project in Germany, which examines language-promoting teaching strategies and their influence on foreign language learning. Jäkel studied English, social sciences, German as a second language and intercultural pedagogy at the University of Duisburg-Essen and completed his doctorate at the Ruhr University Bochum. This in-depth training complements his practical experience, which includes six years at the University of Tennessee as well as at the University of Oulu in Finland and the University of Copenhagen.
His goal at the University of Hildesheim is to combine research and practice and to build a dedicated research team. He also plans to expand the course space for bilingual teaching and learning as well as translanguaging. Particular attention is paid to involving students in research projects in order to promote their practical experience.
Language development and bilingual education
An important topic in Jäkel's research is the processes of simultaneous acquisition of several languages. Like that NIFBE reported, the acquisition of two or more languages differs little from monolingual acquisition, although there is a wide range of variation in the acquisition steps and linguistic abilities. The grammatical systems show comparable morphology and syntax, but the influence of the other language can lead to slowed or accelerated acquisition.
Some children who grow up simultaneously bilingual begin to speak later than monolingual children. While acquisition of both languages is not always the same, intensive exposure to multiple languages can lead to metalinguistic skills being developed more quickly.
But the challenges cannot be overlooked: the vocabulary of simultaneously bilingual children can lag behind compared to monolingual children, as the linguistic input per language is often less extensive. Jäkel will therefore also address the effects of these factors on learning in his research.
A significant part of the language development in bilingual children is reflected in the tendency toCode switchingandCode mixing, whereby the languages are often mixed. These mixes can occur unconsciously or intentionally, influenced by social ties or the changing of topics.
One aspect of language development that Jäkel is particularly interested in is the three-stage development of the separation of languages. This perspective will certainly be of use to him at his upcoming inaugural lecture on July 2, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. at the University of Hildesheim.